Brotherly interaction being what it is, pride probably didn’t register with me as much as it should have. But I was proud of Carey. His academic excellence in science and research was well documented and he was a year away from starting a prolific and rewarding career in medical research, but he was so much more than just society’s ideal university undergrad. He was unassuming, kind, unselfish, and displayed a sensitivity and caring for others that went far beyond his years - qualities that gave him an empowering insight that played out in his every thought and action. Indeed, everyone who encountered Carey was usually struck by his disarmingly gentle ways.

What most of his friends, colleagues and family did not realize is that Carey had been battling crippling mental illness for over a decade. He fought daily with its oppressive grip to maintain his demanding study schedule. After his many rounds of electro-convulsive therapy he would try to study, even though his short term memory was almost gone. Meanwhile he did everything he could to ease his tortured mind. He tried medication, relaxation, holistic therapy, and religion - nothing he did could alleviate his suffering. He ultimately took his own life on January 28th, 1996 at the age of 26.

The CAREY RISMAN MEMORIAL FUND was begun soon after Carey’s death as a channel with which his family could help shine a spotlight on the realities of living with mental illness and eventually remove the horrible stigma society attaches to the disease. The fund benefits charities and programs whose goal is to proactively diagnose and treat the early stages of mental illness, as well as research and development that will help us better understand the nature and causes of this debilitating affliction.

Carey was a huge fan of roots rock and singer/songwriters in general, and he would often spend his Sundays digging through the vinyl museums on Queen Street mining for gold at a buck a pop. He found tons of great stuff that way – mostly indie artists who couldn’t (or didn’t want) to get their stuff into the major retail chains. I’ve always been a music head, but he was responsible for opening my eyes to the amazing music that never made it to the radio. He showed me the singular joy of sitting in a dark bar with a dusty spotlight and listening as a lone troubadour laid bare her soul.

If he was still alive, I firmly believe that Carey would have discovered the artists on this compilation himself, plopped them on a plate in front of me and said “Eat!” The talent pooled here is profound, gathered from Canada to Australia, and reflecting a dedication to the art of the song that is rarely seen in the corporately controlled music environment we swim in today. We’ve included all the bio, purchase, and website information for each artist here, so when you fall in love with them as we did, you can catch up with them wherever you are. Get online and buy a CD. Get out to a show.

In other words, eat!

Shael Risman
Program Director, RismixLive
Toronto, July 2004.

Featuring:

Never Kristin Hoffmann
With Our Hands Edie Carey
Satellite Amy Campbell
Lending An Hourglass Brooke Miller
#9 Cloud Tony Denikos
Don't Mind Dying In This Place Jory Nash
Threes Robin Stone
Counting Flies Joe Rohan
Rewind GrooveLily
Everywhere You Go Rachel Gaudry
Lately Aengus Finnan
Radio Fly Joel Plaskett Emergency
Rain (Like a Hallelujah) Mark McKay
Doggone Lonely Rose Cousins